Pulp Fiction

Hello again everyone! If you read my first blog then welcome back and if your new to me then welcome to my blog. I had an old one but got rid of it to focus on my schoolwork, thankfully now that it is summer I have plenty of time to focus on movies again! So I thought I would open this blog with one of the greatest films of all time: Pulp Fiction.

This is a film that will always be special to me. My Dad who loves movies too would always tell me about it. So I grew up hearing about it but I never saw it until high school. I had these big expectations for this movie to be awesome and luckily they were met.


Pulp Fiction is a movie that focuses on 4 stories that are interconnected and interdependent. The first story is about two hitman Vincent played by John Travolta and Jules played by Samuel L. Jackson who are on a job for Marsellus Wallace played by Ving Rhames. The second is about Vincent taking Marsellus' Wife, played by Uma Thurman, out for an evening. The third is about boxer played by Bruce Willis who decides to go against Marsellus' orders and not throw a fight. The last story is a couple trying to rob a restaurant.

The term pulp fiction came from early 20th century comics for printing lurid and exploitative stories on cheap paper. And in some ways Pulp Fiction is like those comics but it also is an innovative and creative film that has and will impact cinema for years. From the unique narrative to lively script, this film is almost too good for its damn self. We learn about royale with cheese, golden watches, robberies, milkshakes, and rednecks that feels realistic even with these extravagant characters. I could spend pages and pages on why this film is amazing but I will try to highlight my favorite standouts form the film.

To start, one thing that makes this film incredible is the script. There are so many quotes and lines that are repeatable and relatable throughout the movie. My personal favorite part comes from the Samuel L. Jackson scene where he intimidates and kills 3 men who have "fucked" with Marsellus Wallace, but I will get to that later. As with Reservoir Dogs before, Tarantino doesn't let his characters talk about over-our-head ideas, plans, or philosophy but these characters talk about something you would take about with your best friend. At the same time, he doesn't fill up the movie with too much dialogue that would kill the tone and feel of the movie. One of the best scenes comes from the showdown between Willis and Travolta and not a single word is spoken without. The best way to describe this script in my words is experiential, I could try my best to explain it to you but it is something that you just got to see for yourself. It's like trying to give the feeling of skydiving to someone else, you gotta experience it.

One of the fundamental parts of Pulp Fiction is Samuel L. Jackson, without him I believe the film would not be half as good. The apartment scene itself is one of the best acting performances of cinema by switching between cool, sly hitman to crazy psycho that is going to blow your head off. The best part of Jackson's performance is his inflection. Every word he speaks comes off perfectly and gives the audience the feeling and tone that Tarantino is conveying. He alone is enough reason to see this movie but definitely not the only reason. I will make sure to never ever say the word "What" to Jackson for as long as I live.

It is impossible to talk about this film and not talk about Tarantino. I have always enjoyed his films and this is the Mona Lisa of his work. The film feels rich and never drops a beat. You never feel bored and keep your eyes on screen the whole time which is quite the accomplishment these days. Pulp feels alive and unique but at the same time it doesn't try to hard to be cool. It just feels right, never missing a beat and never going too far.

Overall Pulp Fiction is a movie that you just got to see. If you talk to people and friends you will hear nothing but praise. It is both a film that will never leave your mind and never get boring.  It never gets old, and you never want it to get old. 5 out of 5 stars.